A&Q about 350Z
Q:
My grandfather has a 97 lumina 3.1 V6. Today it wouldn't start, but every electrical part is good (lights go on/battery is good..or has a descent charge). Now when i went to start it, the starter makes no noise whatsoever. I hooked up my battery jumper to the battery, start it..nothing. Now i'm thinking it is the starter.....
PS, he get it towed to the local mechanic, and i show up an hour later...they are changing his alternator, they said the alt ran the battery low and the car has no juice to start....?
I honestly think it's the starter, cause i believe it should have atleast started to turn over with my charger pack hooked up..nothing. Is it the alt or the starter..?
A:
If you have doubts, ask the mechanic what he tested.
Before an alternator is replaced, it must be tested with the engine running to see what its electrical output is.
Therefore, a good mechanic must have been able to get the engine running in the first place, which would exclude starter trouble.
I am not a big fan of charger packs, they do not always provide the boost required to spin the starter, even if the lights come on.
IMO if a new alternator fixes the problem, fine. However, if they have to relace the starter as well, do not pay for the new alternator, since as you say, it is not related to a starter failure.
A:
Yeah, if he's a hot and honest mechanic, GM and other companies alternators do short out inside their windings and that will drain a battery in no time. At eight years old it's well past the time when things start to go wrong. So how's the car running now after the alternator change?
A:
The key question in this story is what did the headlights do when you activated the starter:
Scenario #1 --- Lights didn't dim --- Probably a starter solonoid, bad starter or bad connection.
Scenario #2 --- Lights dimmed or went out --- Battery dead for some reason-- Could be bad battery or bad charging system
The fact that you jumped the battery and found no difference may indicate something but you would have needed to watch the headlights to see.